Nov. 11, 2013
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by Staff and wire reports, USA TODAY

by Staff and wire reports, USA TODAY

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NHL general managers will talk about goaltender fights during their fall meeting Tuesday in Toronto, but no action is expected to be taken until later.

Debate over whether there should be heavier punishment for goalies who leave the net to start a fight has been ongoing since the Philadelphia Flyers' Ray Emery skated the length of the ice to start a fight with unwilling combatant Braden Holtby.

Because the fall GM meetings usually wrap up by 3 p.m. ET, they involve only discussions. Recommendations for change usually occur at the spring meetings.

NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan recently said that he hated the Emery fight, but the rules in place didn't allow him to suspend Emery.

Commissioner Gary Bettman also addressed the issue in Toronto, telling reporters that he had talked to Emery during the Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup celebration at the White House.

"I said: 'Oh, Ray. It's good to see you. I've been thinking about you.' We had a nice chat," Bettman said, according to the Associated Press. "And I said, 'So just hypothetically, if there was a rule that said if you cross the red line to get into a fight with the other goaltender and you get a 10-game suspension, would you have done it?' He goes, 'What? Are you crazy?'"

Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard told the Detroit Free Press that goalies "shouldn't have to fight. I know I wouldn't stand up to (Emery). That's one guy on my list that I'd probably try to find the nearest exit to the ice, whether it be the Zamboni door ... . Geez, you click on YouTube and watch him take on heavyweights."

The Red Wings have been home to two famous goaltending fights between Mike Vernon and Patrick Roy and Chris Osgood and Roy a year later.

"I think fans and even players like it," Howard said. "The one way for a bench-clearing brawl to stop is to have the goalies square off. Everyone seems to stop and watch the goalies."

The general managers are also expected to talk about goalie equipment, supplemental discipline and the impact of hybrid icing.